I
agree that we should avoid engaging in partisan politics on this site.
As a Democrat, I have been demonized by the Howard County Party because
I dare to criticize other Dems and their policies and, how many times
have I been called " a union thug"? The fact of the matter is that we
all need to question any practice we believe to be unfair irrespective
of the politics or the person. So, let us focus on the common good as
the framers of our Constitution did.

Michelle,
to answer your question about how policies negatively affecting African
Americans were allowed to perpetuate under the watch of Dr. Sydney
Cousin, Mamie Perkins and Ray Brown...all who are members of the Black
race and were at the top of the HCPSS bureaucracy (I hope I spelled that
correctly. Bill Woodcock for eight years...the answer is very
complicate
d and I can only speak from my personal perspective. I sincerely
believe they felt that if they dared to veer from the status quo, they
would be deemed as doing so because they were Black and feared the
results. It is far easier to go with the flow, that to rock the boat.
Wouldn't you agree? To rock to boat means to draw attention to
yourself and be an open target to insult and criticism. It's sort of
like, "Damned if you do and damned if you don't," right? I also believe
this led to a lack of transparency and a sort of going behind the
scenes to get things done or the hiding of information.

Being
brave is not easy...believe me. Most people are not brave due to a
fear of repercussions. In our own way, those of us who post on
howardpubliced are activists and are brave.

The three of you and other posters here have earned my respect because you have dared to expose
yourselves to criticism and are brave to do so.

Where Is The Outrage?

Ann

P.S. Jack, you are the man!"

Wha.....what???? How the hell did I get caught up in this mess?

I guess, in this listserve post, Ann is talking about the lack of love shown to her by the Democratic Party. And true, I am a registered Democrat. And true, I have been President of the democratic clubs in Columbia, Ellicott City, and Elkridge, as well as President of the Young Democrats of Howard County, and the Young Democrats of Maryland. Further, I served on the Howard County Democratic Central Committee for a total of ten years. So yes, I am "blue" through and through. I may be a little closer to purple than some, but I am a Democrat.

But it's also true that not at present, and not since 2010, do or have held any position within the local Democratic Party. All of my political opinions on Ann DeLacy are ones I have formed on her as an individual.

So, Ann, I find it interesting that more than two months from the election, you are already looking for scapegoats to your inevitable and glorious defeat. But whatever you do, don't blame the blue party. Because if you're not feeling the Democratic love, it has nothing to with your party affiliation. Rather, it is because you are a mean-spirited, divisive, ignorant individual with an ego approximately 80 times greater than your aptitude for service.

And secondly, I'm only going to say this once. Leave my name out of your mouth. Either spoken or in writing. Because if you continue to go there, you are going to unleash eleven weeks of fury that neither you nor your tens of supporters will be able to control. I guarantee you that. Oh, and the same thing goes for friends of mine. You attack them, you attack me.

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Bill, from the perspective of one of your fairly regular readers (and yes, you're too purple for me!), you seem to have some kind of personal vendetta against Ann DeLacy. You've certainly devoted an inordinate number of blog posts to her. Given all the blog space you've devoted to criticizing her, don't you think it's a bit hypocritical to "warn her" that she'd better not speak or write your name anymore? (And sorry, but IMO it also seems childish.)

As a blogger, you've chosen to put yourself (somewhat) in the public eye. Granted, the size of that "public" isn't the same as someone who writes for, say, The New York Times, but you have still put yourself "out there" as a visible and vocal participant in public debate on any number of issues. And you routinely call out others by name (as well as engaging in name-calling on occasion). Why isn't it okay for them to do the same to you?